W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CFO Sells $778,335.36 in Stock

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,195.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,041.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $974.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $764.13 and a 52-week high of $1,199.00.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.87 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 36.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,664,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 59,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,857,000 after purchasing an additional 6,042 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,737 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 280.4% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,058.50.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.